Hi. It's very late. This is going to be short because I'm tired, and it's probably going to be crappy, but I need to finally get this story going lol.
~Liz
Chapter 1
Will dismounted Tug and breathed in the fresh autumn air happily.
"What a great afternoon." Will smiled, offering the horse a shiny red apple.
Tug whinnied happily and gulped down the apple. The horse then flicked his ears and subtly snorted. Will glanced over his shoulder, not seeing anyone, then turned back around to see a tall cloaked figure suddenly standing in the path. Will jumped slightly but composed himself and acted like nothing had happened. He smiled warmly as the tall Ranger bounded over to him and pulled him into a hug.
"Hey, Gilan!" Will exclaimed happily.
"Hullo, Will," Gilan responded cheerfully, releasing Will from his bear hug. "Is Halt here yet?"
Will rolled his eyes and laughed. "Give it up, Gil." he scoffed. "It's never going to happen."
Gilan tilted his head with confusion and gazed at Will innocently. "What's never going to happen?" he asked. "Me surprising Halt like I just surprised you?"
Will scowled and grabbed his longbow from a bag on Tug's back. "Don't get all smart," he snapped. "I'm just saying if it hasn't happened by now, it never will."
Gilan waved his hand dismissively then froze and narrowed his eyes, listening to the sound of hooves on the path. A mischievous smile crept onto his face and he leapt into the brush beside him.
"If you give me away," he began, locking eyes with Will. "I'm gonna...er... do something bad to you."
Will raised an eyebrow but sighed when Gilan mimicked him, doing it better. Gilan snickered and melted into the trees. Will glanced over his shoulder and watched as a shaggy horse trotted down the path. It slowed down when it came to Will and the small Ranger flung himself at the dismounting rider. The short rider embraced his former apprentice in a hug and glanced around.
"How have you been, Halt?" Will asked with a smile.
Halt returned his attention to Will and nodded his head. "Good." he replied warmly.
"Is something wrong?" Will asked, concerned about his mentor's preoccupation.
Halt shook his head and patted Abelard softly. "Just wondering when Gil will realize I know he's in those bushes over there."
A muffled protest came from the bushes and Gilan leapt out of them with a disappointed look on his face.
"Surprise.." he cheered weakly.
His eyes brightened quickly however, and he gave his mentor a warm hug.
"Good to see you both again." Halt said with a subtle smile.
Suddenly, Abelard and Tug stiffened and Tug shoved Will softly. The three Rangers tensed and glanced around carefully, clutching their bows.
"YOU'RE SO DEAD!" A loud voice roared from somewhere in the trees. The Ranger's relaxed slightly when they identified the voice as young.
A gray blur dove into the path in front of Will and let out a laugh. The blur leapt to his feet and gazed back into the woods. He was small with dusty brown hair and playful hazel eyes. A second lean figure burst out of the trees and skidded to a stop. He was slightly smaller than Will, about 15 or 16 with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes that were filled with fury. He was also drenched with cold water, and shivering. His icy gaze locked onto the short figure that now stood slightly behind Will.
"Hey, calm down," the smaller boy smiled nervously. "It was only an accident."
"Um," Gilan began, glancing at the two boys.
The black haired one flicked his gaze toward Gilan and narrowed his eyes.
"You got so lucky," he snarled shifting his gaze to examine the three older Rangers.
Four horses darted toward the Rangers from further down the path, two without riders. The horses came to a clean stop and their two riders, one a short stocky man, and the other a surprisingly big and muscular man, glanced at the two boys. The stocky man with wavy brown hair, dismounted and nodded a greeting to Halt.
"Hullo, Halt," he smiled.
Halt nodded back. "Eirnin,"
Suddenly, the Ranger's eyes flashed with fury and he glared at the smaller boy who cowered under his gaze.
"Rudy West, get over here now." he snapped.
The boy shuffled toward the Ranger and gazed at the ground. The Ranger slapped the boy upside the head and scowled.
"What on earth were you thinking?" he scolded the flinching boy who fiddled with the end of his cloak.
The black haired boy hissed a low curse to himself as he wrung out his cloak and scowled at Rudy. The large Ranger on the horse gazed calmly at the scene then shifted his attention to the drenched boy.
"Eirnin" he said in a deep, yet surprisingly soft voice, interrupting Eirnin's scolding.
The stocky Ranger glanced at the man and crossed his arms.
"Don't reprimand only your apprentice," the big Ranger said. "Samuel is also at fault."
The soaking boy blinked with confusion and surprise and let go of his wet cloak. He looked as though he was about to protest, but a sharp glare from the large man kept him quiet.
"Oh, look at how rude we're being," Eirnin said, glancing at Halt, Will and Gilan. "I'm Eirnin, and this is my apprentice Rudy."
Gilan and Will waved at the pair but Halt seemed like he was already acquainted with the Rangers.
"I am Barley," the large Ranger said. "And that's Sam, my apprentice."
The black haired apprentice remained silent and crept toward his mentor who slid off his horse.
"May I ask why your apprentices came charging in here like a pack of wolves?" Halt asked stiffly.
Eirnin glanced at Rudy. "Care to explain?"
Rudy huffed and crossed his arms.
"Sam fell into the river back there and blamed me for it, therefore chasing me through the forest to here." he explained with a smile.
"You little liar," Sam hissed, narrowing his eyes.
"What?" Rudy asked innocently.
"You threw a rock at me and knocked me off my horse!" Sam exclaimed.
"Well, you're the one who rolled into the river aren't you?" Rudy snorted.
Sam's eyes flashed with rage and he leapt at Rudy but Barley grabbed him and held him back.
"You two get along about as good as a cat and dog." Eirnin sighed folding his arms. "Thanks to you two, we're all going to be late for the Gathering."
Sam shrugged and glared at Rudy.
"So rather than standing here, why don't we go ahead and go to the Gathering then?" he snapped.
Barley shook his head at his apprentice and mounted his horse. "Lucky for you we brought Storm and Rush."
Sam shuffled toward a black horse with gray splotches and mounted it swiftly. Rudy did the same, but sped off without his mentor.
Two more horses came trotting slowly down the path toward the Rangers and Barley smiled warmly at the small boy on the dark brown horse.
"We were trying to catch up to you." the handsome Ranger on the second horse said.
"Sorry about that, Stephen," Barley sighed. "There were some issues again."
The Ranger, Stephen smiled and shook his head. "No worries," he reassured him. "Ah, well if it isn't Gilan, Halt and Will,"
The three Rangers smiled at the friendly Ranger, while Sam sped off on his horse, followed closely by Barley.
"How have you been, Stephen?" Halt asked.
"Ah, I've been fine thank you," Stephen replied, glancing at the boy on the horse beside him.
"Got an apprentice have you?" Gilan asked with curiosity.
The boy almost seemed to recoil and he lowered his head timidly. Stephen only laughed.
"Yep!" Stephen chirped. "This is Franz."
Franz was a small apprentice with wispy, light blonde hair that was swept neatly to the side. He had dark green eyes that seemed to reflect the forest itself, and his red cheeks were speckled with a few freckles.
"Aww, Franz," Stephen urged his apprentice softly. "Go ahead and say hello, these are some fine Rangers here, they're very kind."
Franz's hesitant green eyes swept across the three Rangers, then he glued his gaze to the ground.
"Hi.." he said softly.
"He gets a little nervous with new people," Stephen explained, giving his apprentice a gentle pat on the back. "Well, why don't we all head to the Gathering before all the good spots are taken!"
"Good idea," Will said, offering a gentle smile to Franz.
The shy apprentice returned the smile weakly and shifted in his saddle. As the Rangers made their way to the gathering, Will noticed that Franz flinched or jumped at every noise. He couldn't help but wonder why the apprentice was so jumpy.
Hey, so I know this chapter was basically just introducing a mass of characters, but I promise you the next chapters will be better. This was just to introduce the characters that you will be reading about as this story progresses. Reviews are awesome, I'll take any advice.
~Liz